New CNN President Jeff Zucker Makes Big Changes

Published

6 years ago

on

02/06/2013

CNN President Jeff Zucker

Jeff Zucker, the new president of Cable News Network (CNN), has been making waves at the network with a series of high-profile changes in on-air talent. Zucker recently poached Chris Cuomo from ABC before he dismissed pundits James Carville, Mary Matalin, and Bill Bennett.

Cuomo is expected to be joined by Erin Burnett for a new morning program.

Other changes include the resignation of managing editor Mark Whitaker, and news that Anderson Cooper’s show will no longer be repeated in prime time, while Soledad O’Brien has been promised a prime time gig.

In recent years, CNN has struggled to keep pace with fellow cable news rivals Fox and MSNBC.

CNN has 4,000 employees and channels around the globe. The network is expected to generate a record $600 million in profit this year for Turner Broadcasting, the Time Warner Inc. unit that houses CNN.

CNN was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States.

Since taking over at CNN last month, Zucker has been actively involved in all aspects of the network’s functions. “He is all over everyone at the network,” according to one source. “He is e-mailing everyone, around the clock, the anchors, the control rooms, he has inserted himself into everything. It is great for the network.”